The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

SOME 444 Corrections officers are awaiting promotions at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, with the process expected to commence before the end of the month, Commissioner Doan Cleare said yesterday.

With more than half of the force needing to be promoted, Commissioner Cleare said this has led to some jarring gaps within the department and a need for the department to recruit on an annual basis.

“The promotional exercise, at this current term is the most comprehensive and the fairest that we have ever had in the history of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS). We have had some 400 plus recommendations that were sent to the Department of Public Service and the Public Service Commission. We have checked on the promotions daily and it is being worked on as we speak.

“We hope to start receiving some of the promotions some time within the next two weeks. It is our desire, going forward, to have two promotions per year.”

Commissioner Cleare said the department’s last promotion exercise happened last year, with only 19 people, which is very small compared to this year’s request.

“That’s a drop in the bucket. They were assistant commissioners; chief officers. This year, I put in 444 and I am looking for 444, but I may not get what I ask for, because the process is external.

“We have to recruit pretty much every year, because just this year alone, we have had 49 people retire and we have seven prisons to man. So that’s why we have to recruit pretty much on an annual basis. We have about 850 plus officers. We have 106 people in the squad right now in training. They will be coming out of training on August 8, 2024, at 3pm.

“Right now, our sergeant rank is the most decimated rank in the BDCS. We are supposed to have over 70 sergeants, but we have six and we have two with two training correctional officers (TCO) squads that should have been officers now, but again the process is just too slow. We are now adding a next squad on top of that. So that’s almost 600 officers, who need to be promoted,” Commissioner Clear said.

Commissioner Cleare suggested that the BDCS should have a commission, similar to the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Police Service Commission, which is a body empowered to make recommendations and promotions of officers above the rank of inspector.

Currently, promotion of BDCS officers falls under the Public Service Commission, which also deals with promotions for all other public servants.

“It is very unfortunate that it takes so long for those at the BDCS to be promoted, as compared to other sister agencies,” he said.

“Our commission deals with the entire Public Service, we don’t have a personal commission, like the police. Hopefully going forward, if that could change, we could have our own commission and promotions would be on a timely basis.

“Let’s hope and pray that one day we will have our own commission. I’m hearing for us to do it, there has to be a referendum, so I don’t know where that starts,” Commissioner Cleare said.